Facebook Tells FTC To Balance Privacy, Innovation

In commenting on the Federal Trade Commission's plan to protect online privacy, the social media site cautions the agency not to do anything that will hinder business development.

Facebook on Thursday made public 28 pages of comments it made on the Federal Trade Commission's plans to protect consumers' online privacy rights, detailing both the company's impact on the way in which individuals communicate and the shifting view people have about privacy.

The letter and responses to specific questions range from philosophical thoughts on innovation and Facebook's evolution to the role of social media in reshaping lives in regions such as Egypt and Tunisia.

Dated February 18, the letter was written by Michael Richter, Facebook's chief privacy counsel. While agreeing with the FTC's position that government should play a role in protecting individuals, Facebook said social media companies also must participate in order to foster innovation. As technology and the world change, consumers' opinions of privacy also evolve, Richter argued.

"The FTC's reexamination of privacy therefore must not only balance the public's demand for new and innovative ways to interact and share information against their interest in maintaining control over that information, but do so against a backdrop of continually evolving privacy expectations and preferences," Richter wrote. "For Facebook -- like most other online service providers -- getting this balance right is a matter of survival. If Facebook fails to protect the privacy of users adequately, those users will lose trust in Facebook and will stop using the service."

Users have, in fact, resisted several Facebook changes -- and have caused the social networking company to reverse course on some privacy-related moves. Late in 2009, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a formal complaint with the FTC regarding the social network site's changes. And there have been more complaints, letters, and probes since then. In January, Facebook's automated photo-tagging feature -- which uses facial-recognition software to put names to faces, without requesting account-holders' permission -- raised some privacy advocates' ire.

"While this feature may be appealing for those Facebook users that are keen to share every detail of their social life with their online friends, it is alarming to those who wish to have a little more anonymity," Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security software developer Sophos, said in a statement. "Rather than allowing users to opt-out of this feature, surely Facebook users should be given the option to opt-in. A recent Sophos poll showed that 90% of Facebook users think that all Facebook features should become totally opt-in. With this new feature, I'd say that this percentage is likely to rise."

The use of social media for a host of business purposes is rising. Indeed, social is quickly moving from cutting edge to business basic. Organizations that have so far ignored social - either because they thought it was a passing fad or just didnít have the resources to properly evaluate potential use cases and products - must start giving it serious consideration.

Social media is critical in the age of digital business. How can IT help? First, work with the marketing team to set up social networking programs on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, at minimum. Then work to put social media sentiment analytics in place to measure success.